Royalties from writing books go on Schedule C. And they are subject to self-employment tax.
So, did Obama pay the self-employment tax?
“Royalties from writing books go on Schedule C. And they are subject to self-employment tax.”
They MAY go on this schedule, or must? Unless Obama wrote off heaps of illegitimate expenses associated with generating these royalties, it seems to me that because of the SE tax, he ended up paying more in taxes than if he’d declared the identical royalty income and offsetting expenses on Schedule E.
But given the nature of the royalties, I can’t tell whether Obama made a choice that benefited Uncle Sam at his own expense or whether he had no choice in the matter. Given his historical pattern of charitable giving, the first possibility doesn’t seem that likely IMHO.